Rays Notebook: Manuel Margot's Hitting Streak Reaches 14
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Manuel Margot ripped a double off the left-field wall to start the sixth inning on Friday night, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. That's a personal best, by far, for the Tampa Bay outfielder.
And he's done it the hard way, too.
Margot had hit in 11 straight games before a hamstring injury forced him onto the injured list on May 15. He missed 10 days, but has hit safely in three more games since returning on Wednesday. He had a single in return Wednesday against the Miami Marlins, two hits Thursday night in the 7-2 loss to the New York Yankees and the double on Friday night.
"It's pretty hard. We've seen some guys go on the IL and the way they go on the IL, they look like different players coming off,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "It's not that easy to do, but Manny was as locked in as anybody. We felt pretty good after that lead-off double, but we just couldn't capitalize.''
Margot's previous best streak was 10 games. His 14-game streak is the longest current streak in the AL. He's batting .477 during the streak — 21-for-44 with three homers and 15 RBIs — and it's the longest streak by a Rays' hitter since Austin Meadows hit in 16 straight games from Sept. 1-18 in 2019.
The Rays' club record is a 19-game hitting streak by Jason Bartlett from May 15–June 25, 2009.
Rays' hitters scuffling
The Rays were shut out for the second time this season, the first being the May 10 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels. They hadn't been shut out at home since Sept. 19, 2021 against Detroit.
The Rays have been held scoreless in 17 of 18 innings this series and have scored only two runs in their last 25 innings, dating back to the second inning on Wednesday against Miami. They have scored two runs or fewer in back-to-back games for the just the second time this season. It also happened in back-to-back losses to the Chicago White Sox on April 15-16 in Chicago.
The Rays had only two hits Friday, with Randy Arozarena getting a fifth inning single.
"You've got to give Taillon credit. We're in a bit of an offensive rut right now, but we'll get out of it. We've got to find a way to get the offense going. It's not on one guy or two. It's just the collective, have some at-bats and get some momentum going from that.''
Sellout Saturday
Remember that Saturday's game with the Yankees is sold out, so there are no tickets remaining in the primary market. Also remember that a large crowd means more traffic and longer lines, so get there early and enjoy the day.
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Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.